Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Placidochromis borealis

Placidochromis borealis "Matema"

Matema — mah-TEH-mah (approx.)

The fish

How this cichlid is built, and everything about how it lives, eats and breeds, is shared with the species — this page doesn't repeat it.

Read the full Placidochromis borealis account →

Specific to Matema

  • Collection locality & coordinates
  • Local coloration — best judged from the living-fish photo
  • Kept as a single-provenance line, never crossed with other collection points

Care facts below are the species' — shared with Placidochromis borealis.

IUCNDATA DEFICIENT · 2018
DDnot on the EX–LC scale
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size2.6 in6.5 cm standard length
Temperature73–81 °F23–27 °C
pH7.8–8.6alkaline
Depth174–200 ft53–61 m
DietPresumed benthic invertivore (no direct study; inferred from genus and deep-water habitat; trophic level ~3.2 per FishBase)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (inferred from Malawi haplochromine flock; not documented for this species)Unrecorded for this species; likely small given the fish's small size
Sexual dimorphismNot documentedNot documented; known mainly from preserved, trawled specimens, so live coloration and dimorphism are unrecorded.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Matema population

Placidochromis borealis "Matema" is the Matema population of Placidochromis borealis, a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Malawi in the far northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Placidochromis borealis, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Matema fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Placidochromis borealis is a very small deep-water cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, described in 2004 by Mark Hanssens in his revision of the lake's deep-living Placidochromis. It is known only from Wissman Bay in the far north of the lake, in Tanzanian waters, at depths of around 50 to 60 metres. Its name, 'northern,' marks that far-northern distribution; at about 6.5 cm it is one of the smallest members of the deep-water group.

Full Placidochromis borealis account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Placidochromis borealis "Matema"
  2. FishBase — Placidochromis borealis Hanssens, 2004 (SpecCode 62389; size 6.5 cm SL, distribution, depth 53-61 m, IUCN)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Placidochromis borealis (valid name, authorship, type data)
  4. Hanssens, M., 2004 — The deep-water Placidochromis species. In: J. Snoeks (ed.), The Cichlid Diversity of Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa, pp. 104-197. Cichlid Press (original description)
  5. Lewis, D.S.C., 1982 — Description of Placidochromis (genus establishment)
  6. GBIF — Placidochromis borealis Hanssens, 2004 (occurrence and taxonomic backbone)